LOCAL >74 year-old man attacked by imam in Turkey

Arif Ekiz, a 74-year-old man from the province of Muğla in southern Turkey, was allegedly beaten up by an imam after warning him not to preach politics during Friday prayers, daily Milliyet has reported.

The 28 year-old imam allegedly responded violently when Ekiz told him not bring politics into the mosque, after Ekiz spoke up about the imam’s praising a political party during Friday prayers.

Ekiz claimed that his wife rescued him from the angry imam, while fellow worshippers attending prayers at the mosque also tried to calm the imam down. Ekiz was hospitaized overnight after receiving several blows to his face. The imam allegedly attacked him with a garden rake, striking him in the legs and hip.

A administrative investigation was launched after Ekiz filed an official complaint against the imam.